The Future That They Deserve-Edited Version
by acalanto
Summary: Sequel to "Past and Future". The danger now passed, a couple in love enjoy the life they fought so hard for, and look forward to even greater rewards to come. A brilliant future they both deserve.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Thank you to StarTraveler and Shepweir Always for pointing out my mistakes.** **Any help is welcome.** **This is** **a continuation of the story "Past and Future" for Shepweir. Tom/Rachel. Trying to redeem myself after posting "Fire and Ice".**

 **Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are. (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)**

Tom walked down the corridor looking for... "Lieutenant Cruz, you are late."

"Sorry, sir"

"Two hours, Lieutenant."

"Sorry, Sir" He repeated.

Damn, it was not the Lieutenant's fault, Tom knew this scientist in particular, did not respect the chain of command.

"Where is she?" Tom asked, exasperated.

Lieutenant Cruz pointed to the lab.

Tom found her lost in your work as always, looking at something under a microscope.

"I am leaving; I just need to finish this job." She said without turning around.

"You are two hours late, Rachel. You promised you would slow down."

She stood up, her movements slow and careful, but she could not hide the expression of pain.

"We are right, Tom." She conceded.

"Your expression tells me the opposite, Rachel."

She approached him with slow steps. "It is just a pain in the back, Tom." He put his hand over hers. The baby moved beneath his palm, the movement never failing to delight him.

She was six months pregnant.

"He is agitated today." Said Tom.

"He is your son, demanding and difficult to control."

"My son, hmm? As I recall, you took part in a very enthusiastic way. Not that I am complaining, of course."

Rachel blushed.

' _I am over 30 years old for Gods sake!'_ Rachel thought.

Tom laughed, even after all these months seeing her blush was captivating.

"At least the other is calmer, maybe he is more like me." Rachel said.

"Rachel, you are the most stubborn person I know." "Said the pot to the kettle." Rachel murmured.

"That's not so bad Tom, they will have to be strong in this new world. You will have a few years before they grow up. Ashley on the other hand, will soon be a teenager. Parties, boyfriends, kisses, coming home late..."

He groaned. "She will only be dating after college. Perhaps an escort is required."

"Thomas Chandler, you will not do such a thing."

"With four children, I will grow old before their time. God help me," he said with a suffering voice.

"Look on the bright side, you still has hair, at least for now."

"Whose side are you on, Rachel?"

"Always on your side, my Captain. In addition, I like you with the silver hair." She said stroking his hair. "It gives you a special charm."

For him, the woman in his arms was a walking contradiction, blushing like a teenager at times like these, and yet in bed, when she took the lead, was passionate and demanding.

Pregnancy changes the body of a woman; sex was not a priority for some. Especially when the normal symptoms such as fatigue, drowsiness, nausea and irritability appeared. He was willing to wait.

Rachel, however seemed to feel good, her pregnancy occurring without incident, the changes to her body not leading to decreased desire. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she felt sexier than ever and showed it often.

Rachel noticed a slow smile full of meanings on Tom's lips, as he watched her body.

"What you are thinking, Captain Chandler?" She asked, though she had a good idea what he was thinking.

"Well…" Replied Tom. "I was thinking of the exercises we did this morning ... My team and me." His smile widened.

Rachel looked at Tom's lips, his eyes darkened with desire. She put her hand on his neck and kissed him. In an instant, he lost himself completely in the feel of her warm lips upon his. The response was immediate; it was as if he leaned against barbed wire. The desire, the passion they felt for each other was present, in the hands that caressed, in the fighting of tongues, their bodies seeking greater proximity, almost as if they wanted to become one. Sometime later, he groaned and turned away from her, needing oxygen after all.

They were breathless, the kiss affected her too. Damn man.

She could not help but provoke him. "What were you saying, Captain?"

"I don't remember now." He replied smiling.

The babies chose that moment to stretch, kicking their mother's stomach.

"Looks like we woke up the other." Said Tom. "Let us go now, you need to eat and rest."

A mischievous smile appeared on Rachel's face. "And then we can resume this morning's activities the morning?" She asked.

"Woman, you are trying to kill me?"

"No, Captain, only offering help to the war effort."

Tom raised his eyebrows in silent question.

"Tom, you need pleasant memories to support the long hours of work. I'm just providing relaxation, you seem tense." Laughter in her voice.

Life with Rachel was anything but dull.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like and tell me what you think.**

They came home and were greeted by excited children's voices, and Jed's smile.

"You are late." Ashley complained.

"Tell that to Rachel, she found something fascinating to study, again." Said Tom.

Rachel thought an evasive tactic was in order. "Something smells good, what did you guys make for dinner?"

"Grandpa and I made lasagna." Said Ashley proudly.

"And me!" Added Sam, complaining at being left out.

Everyone washed their hands and gathered to eat.

Rachel put her hand on her stomach to feel the babies moving.

"Are they moving?" Asked Sam.

"They are, put your hand here and you will feel them." She guided his small hand to her belly.

"Wow, they kick hard. When will they be born?" He asked anxiously.

"Probably in less than three months, twins are often born before nine months, or maybe they will be as impatient as their father is."

"Tom was born a week earlier than expected; his mother said it was a trait of his personality appearing."

"Thanks, Dad. Good to know that I have your support."

Everyone laughed.

"It is not fair." Complained Ashley.

"What are you talking about, Ashley?" Asked Tom.

"Sam will have two boys to play with. I have no one. There are too many men in this house. Count them; Dad, Grandpa, Sam, the babies." Then her face lit up. "You can have a girl or two!"

"Hold your horses, Ashley. Six children? I am too old for that."

"You're not old, Dad."

"Luv, we cannot be sure that another pregnancy would be a girl, it could be another boy." Said Rachel.

"You can try again if you don't get it right the first time."

Tom and Rachel's jaws dropped, Jed disguised a cough.

It will not be for lack of trying, Rachel thought with an appreciative look at Tom's body.

Tom was distracted by the kids and did not notice, but Jed saw Rachel's look and nearly choked on his water.

Rachel blushed and exchanged a look with Jed.

"Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, son. I just drank too fast." Jed winked at Rachel. Tom noticed, but said nothing.

Later, the two were relaxing in the bath, Rachel leaning back on Tom's chest, him caressing her stomach and massaging her shoulders.

"How was work today?" She asked.

He took a deep breath. "Rebuilding the entire armed forces almost from scratch is tricky. We need to locate soldiers scattered across the country, recruit and train new soldiers, reconstructing the chain of command is a tough job and takes a long time. I am glad that I have Mike and the others to help me."

"And yours?" He queried in return.

"Dr. Milowsky and I are looking for a way to increase the contagion time of the vaccine. Meanwhile we are increasing production of the conventional vaccine. The Immune's destroyed a shipment sent to a Texas town." She was head of the CDC now.

There were still pockets of resistance from the Immune's. They were dangerous. For a moment, Tom remembered Rachel bleeding after being shot. He squeezes her shoulder unintentionally.

Rachel felt his body tense behind her; she turned and realized that Tom was lost in memories. She placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I am fine, Tom. They cannot hurt me. The past is the past." That brought him back.

He wrapped her in a hug. The babies' kicks brought a smile to his lips.

We have to choose names for the babies, Rachel. We cannot call them baby one and baby two. You know what my idea is.

"Forget it, Tom, I will not name my children after the ship."

"Why not? The ship is named after a person, Rachel."

"I want names that have meaning, something to do with our history, Tom".

After several discarded ideas, they reached an agreement. Isaac Nathan Chandler and Alexander Gabriel Chandler. Tom got his wish; one of the babies was given the name in honor of the ship where they met. Rachel only agreed because she liked the meaning of the name.

Rachel rubbed her stomach and called the babies by name, they kicked.

Tom and Rachel both laughed, delighted.

After they finished bathing they went to bed.

They were lying in bed, one facing the other. Tom remembered something. "What was that earlier?"

"What?"

"You and my father seemed to be sharing a secret or something."

"Your father realized that I was having thoughts that were a little, how do I say… _libidinous_ about you. I think I need to be more careful."

Sons did not like to talk about sex with their fathers, no matter how old. Tom was no exception.

He groaned. "God! Rachel, don't you think of anything else?"

"Right now... No. I did not choose you just for your beautiful eyes. By the way, you promised me we were going to resume certain… activities."

"I did not promise anything. So it was not just my eyes, it was my body that you really wanted." His eyes were laughing.

"Evasive tactic, my Captain! Ok, I will _satisfy_ … your curiosity. I am a scientist, I will admit that scientific evidence weighed in my decision."

"Scientific evidence, huh?" He was curious to see where this was going.

"A founder of Sociobiology, Robert Trivers found that due to differences in the mating stages, females sought males with greater evidence of good genetic qualities, indicated by their attractiveness and social status."

"You are very attractive." She continued, an appreciative look wandering over his body "and you are an Admiral now." She ended the speech with a playful smile hovering on her lips.

He laughed and could not stop, tears appeared in his eyes. She was impossible.

Hours later, relaxed and satisfied after making love, Tom with his head in the curve of Rachel's neck whispered to her softly **.**

"I love you Dr. Scott." He felt her smile.

"I love you too, my Captain."

 **THE END**

 **A/N Meaning of names**

 **Isaac, son of joy.**

 **Nathan,** **God's gift.**

 **Alexander,** **Defender of the human species.** **Brave.**

 **Gabriel,God fortress.**


End file.
